Syria faces its first post-Assad legislative elections

After more than 50 years of dictatorship, post-Assad Syria is preparing to hold its first legislative elections, scheduled for mid-September. The stakes are high for the interim government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa: to rebuild the People’s Assembly, a name inherited from the old regime that the new authorities are keen to modernize.The goal is to ensure fair representation in a country fragmented and marked by ethnic and political diversity, while avoiding the organization of a direct vote, notably due to logistical difficulties resulting from more than 14 years of civil war. Officially decreed on Wednesday, Aug. 20, the electoral process aims to create an "independent and representative institution," said Nawar Nejmeh, spokesperson for the Supreme Committee for the People’s Assembly. He promised a Parliament "equal to its...